So in preparation for pulling my trans to replace the throwout bearing, in order to get to the starter, I pulled all the hoses, lines and linkage to the carb, labeling them along the way. I then found I could see the steering box, but it was covered with thick gunk. A can or so of carb cleaner got it cleaned off enough that I could see the top of it and the square fill plug. I was able to get a 8mm open end wrench on it but there was no way it would budge.
Checking on line I found I wasn't the only one with this issue. The square top of the plug will just round off with conventional sockets. An 8 point 5/16 socket was said to work, but they are impossible to find. So I checked with one of our NJFIATS resident experts, Ralph (lanciahf) who gave me the secret.
Take a 3/8 in. socket, turn it upside down and place the square end on to the fill plug. It’s a little loose, but it will bite. Then, figure out how to connect the upside down socket to an extension then to the rachet somehow. I poked around my meager toolbox and found this 3/8 inch socket driver thing. I don’t know how it got in my box or really what its for, but I found the business end fits tightly into 6mm (1/4 inch) socket. Add a long extension and, voilà, a hard twist and the plug was loose. It rounded it off a little, but next time the 8mm open end will take it right off.
Here’s the pictures. Oh, the mark on the driver socket thing is “H6”.
